Android Fragments is a 100-page quick start accelerated guide to learning and quickly using Android fragments. You'll learn how to code for fragments; deal with config changes; code for regular vs. fragmented dialogs; work with preferences and saving state; work with the compatibility library; and handle advanced async tasks and progress dialogs.

After reading and using this book, which is based on material from the best-selling Pro Android, you'll be an Android UI savant. At the very least, your apps' user interfaces and event handling will be more competitive and better performing, especially for tablet-optimized UIs and events.

What you’ll learn

What are Android fragments

How to work and code for fragments

How to respond to configuration changes

How to do regular and fragmented dialogs

How to work with preferences and saving state

How to work with the compatibility library

How to handle advanced async tasks and progress dialogs

Who this book is for
This book is for experienced Android app developers wanting improved user interfaces and their behavior.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

In this episode of XDA TV Producer rirozizo shows you what Lollipop looks like using his Nexus 4. He shows of the user interfact changes. He shows you the new notification panel. He talks about ambient display. If you wanted to see Lollipop in action, check out this video.

If you can't wait for the OTA, you can download it from the page of Factory Images for Nexus Devices. This page contains binary image files that allow you to restore your Nexus device's original factory firmware. You will find these files useful if you have used the Android Open-Source Project, flashed custom builds on your device, and wish to return that device to its factory state.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Building JavaScript Games teaches game programming through a series of engaging, arcade-style games that quickly expand your JavaScript and HTML5 skills. JavaScript is in the top ten most-used programming languages world wide, and is the basis for applications that can run in any modern browser, on any device from smart phone to tablet to PC. Especial emphasis is given to touch-based interface, but all games also run using a regular mouse and keyboard setup.

The four games you’ll develop from reading this book are:

Painter

Jewel Jam

Penguin Pairs

Tick Tick

These four games are casual, arcade-style games representing the aim-and-shoot, puzzle, maze, and platform styles of game play.

The approach in Building JavaScript Games follows the basic structure of a game rather than the syntax of a language. From almost the very first chapter you are building games to run on your phone or other device and show to your friends. Successive projects teach about handling player input, manipulating game objects, designing game worlds, managing levels, and realism through physics. All told, you’ll develop four well-designed games, making Building JavaScript Games one of the most enjoyable ways there is to learn about programming browser-based games.

The final chapters in the book contain a very nice bonus of sorts. In them you will find excerpts from interviews with two prominent people from the game industry: Mark Overmars, who is CTO of Tingly Games and creator of GameMaker, and Peter Vesterbacka, the CMO of Rovio Entertainment - the creators of the Angry Birds franchise. Their insight and perspective round off what is already a fun and valuable book.

What you’ll learn

Create games to run on phones and tablets

Manage sprites and other game objects

React to player input through touch and button presses

Allow game players to progress through different levels

Achieve realistic movement through applied physics

Prepare your games properly for commercial deployment

Who this book is for
Building JavaScript Games is for technology enthusiasts interested in learning about programming, and especially about game programming on their mobile devices. The book is also ideal for programmers in other languages wanting to make the move to mobile development using the cross-platform environment of JavaScript and HTML5. If you’re interested in browser-based development, especially the development of mobile games, then Building JavaScript Games is the perfect choice.

Table of Contents

Part I
1 - Programming
2 - Game Programming Basics
3 - Creating a Game World
4 - Game Assets

Use design patterns to simplify your coding and make more powerful games

Manage memory efficiently to get the most out of your creativity

Load and save games using file I/O, so that your users are never disappointed

Most of today's popular console and PC game platforms use C++ in their SDKs. Even the Android NDK and now the iOS SDK allow for C++; so C++ is growing in use for today's mobile game apps. Game apps using C++ become much more robust, better looking, more dynamic, and better performing. After reading this book, you’ll have the skills to become a successful and profitable game app or applications developer in today’s increasingly competitive indie game marketplace.

The next stage is to take the foundation from this book and explore SDKs such as Android/Ouya, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo DS, DirectX, Unity3D, and GameMaker Studio to make your career really take off.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Get your app in the Google index — and be ready for the future of search! Try the hands-on codelab at: http://bit.ly/index-my-app.

Google set out to index to mobile apps, to bringing accessibility and discoverability to them. App Indexing is the ability for Google to index apps just like websites. Deep links to your Android app appear in Google Search results so users can get to your native mobile experience quickly, landing exactly on the right content within the app.

Drive return visits to your appFor users who have your app installed, having deep links appear in search results will help drive organic traffic back to your app.

Re-engage your usersFor users who have viewed pages in your app, and later searches for similar content, you can use the App Indexing API to have deep links appear in search suggestions. For example, a user visits a pizza restaurant page in an app. The next time the user searches for pizza, a deep link will appear in search suggestions before seeing search results.

Create a seamless experience for your users App indexing is flexible—you can direct search users to your app or website on a page by page basis. Moving from search results to apps is seamless, without any pop-ups or extra taps to slow users down.